Honey kills bacteria: study

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AMSTERDAM: If you start poking around into the history of honey, you'll find the stuff is revered in many early cultures.

Honey is mentioned in the Bible, it was used to preserve corpses by the ancient Egyptians, was considered sacred during the time of Buddha, and the prophet Muhammad espoused its potential healing properties.

But it's only been in recent times that science has been able to prove and explain the benefits that honey holds.

Now a new study from researchers at the University of Amsterdam shows honey to be effective in killing bacteria that cause chronic sinusitis. Chronic sinusitis affects millions of people every year.

In chronic sinusitis, the mucous membranes in the sinus cavities become inflamed, causing headaches, stuffy nose, and difficulty breathing.

Though it can be caused by allergies, chronic sinusitis can also be caused by bacteria that colonize in the nose and sinuses.

Researchers singled out three particularly nasty bacteria: two strains of staph bacteria, MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus) and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and one called Pseudomonas aeriginosa (PA).